Advisory Council
Kimberly Wilson, TEL 2002
Founder, SocialNewsDesk Inc., Gainesville, FL
Twitter: @kimsnd
Kim Wilson is a 2002 University of Florida graduate of the College of Journalism. She began her career in Television News as an assistant to Dan Rather at CBS News, New York. She went on to become Executive Producer of News at WJXT-TV in Jacksonville prior to founding SocialNewsDesk in Gainesville.
SocialNewsDesk is a web-based software suite which transforms the way news organizations interact with social media. While working as a journalist, Kim observed that Facebook and Twitter were fundamentally changing the way people consume and interact with news; and local television stations were either technically incapable or completely unaware of how to embrace this revolutionary change. Relying on her experience as a journalist, she conceptualized the software tool and then put together a talented team of designers and programmers to bring her idea to life. The product allows customized monitoring and cultivation of news content using one specially designed interface. It establishes and enforces best practices and enables journalists to engage with their Fans and Followers using custom-designed Facebook applications. After more than 18 months in development, SocialNewsDesk went to market in Spring 2011. The company has quickly gained notoriety and is now used in newsrooms around the country. SocialNewsDesk is also the exclusive social media partner for Weather-Channel-owned WSI corporation.
Kim is a contributor to several popular social media blogs including LostRemote.com, Journalistics.org and KimWilson.com. She regularly speaks on the subject of social media in journalism at industry conferences.
Kim has served as a member of the University of Florida’s Advisory Council to the College of Journalism since 2004 and regularly teaches in the University’s Telecommunications Department as an Adjunct Lecturer. She has taught courses on producing and newsroom management, as well as entrepreneurial journalism and emerging media.
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